Serbia’s Foreign Policy: Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place?

Serbia’s Foreign Policy: Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place?

10/14/14

Franz-Stefan Gady

EU, Foreign Policy, Trade, Serbia, Russia

"Serbia’s current balancing act in foreign policy: forging a closer relationship with the European Union on the one hand, while maintaining strong ties with its historic ally Russia on the other."

“We will support the geographic integrity of all UN member states including Ukraine,” stated the prime minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, during a speech last week delivered at the 2014 Belgrade Security Forum. An audience member immediately retorted via Twitter: “How come then Serbia abstained from Resolution 68/262?” The UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 from March 2014 entitled, “Territorial Integrity of Ukraine,” confirmed the invalidity of the 2014 Crimean referendum and furthermore emphasized that the Crimean peninsula is an integral part of Ukraine.

This small episode is illustrative of Serbia’s current balancing act in foreign policy: forging a closer relationship with the European Union on the one hand, while maintaining strong ties with its historic ally Russia on the other. As the crisis between Russia and the West over Ukraine deepens, this balancing act will become more difficult to sustain.

The Belgrade Security Forum conference location, the Hyatt Hotel, is walking distance from the spots where the soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army crossed the Save river ninety-nine years ago in October 1915 to commence their final assault on Belgrade during the First World War—a war that established the preeminence of Serbia in the Western Balkans and laid the foundation for most of the future bloodshed in the region. Thus, after a century of turmoil, Serbia’s peaceful bid for EU membership is a watershed event for the country.

The Council of the European Union approved opening negotiations on Serbia's accession in January 2014. During the conference, in an off-the-record conversation, a former high-ranking official of the European Union diplomatically argued “there should not be a contradiction between Serbia’s accession to the EU and maintaining her historic ties with Russia.” While this is certainly true, Belgrade’s Brussels-Moscow Doppelspiel may tardy the EU accession process to the economic and political detriment of Serbia in the long run.

Read full articlehttp://nationalinterest.org/feature/serbia%E2%80%99s-foreign-policy-stuck-between-rock-hard-place-11454